Great Britain - Ireland

Great Britain

On His second visit to Great Britain, Sant Kirpal Singh arrived at London Airport on 13 August.

Sant Kirpal Singh and Baron W. F. Blomberg held a meeting with the British Council of Churches at which the World Fellowship of Religions was discussed. What particularly appealed to the Council was the W.F.R. plan to bring all religious leaders together for the benefit of humanity and the furtherance of peace on earth.

Meetings were held with representatives of the Caravan of East and West; the Royal Society for International Affairs; Amnesty International; the British Vegetarian Centre; the Order of the Cross; the Creative Association; and with Mr. Allen, a director of the British Broadcasting Corporation; Mrs. Heyes, President of the British Hospitals Association; and Mr. Gambadela, head of the British Restaurants Association.

Nine meetings, dealing with the science of the soul, were held in Great Britain. Three crowded meetings were held at the Sikh Cultural Society in North London. Sant Kirpal Singh addressed these meetings in Punjabi for the benefit of the vast majority of the Sikh community. A meeting was held at the headquarters of a Yoga-Vedanta Group in North London and at an Esoteric Christian Group in South-East London. At the invitation of the Editor of the "Voice Universal," Mr. Joseph Busby, two meetings were given at "Voice Headquarters" in Sussex, where Kirpal Singh had stayed on his previous Western visit in 1955. Two meetings at Caxton Hall in Central London were crowded to overflowing.

Dr. Leslie Jelfs, a medical advisor to members of the Royal Family, received Sant Kirpal Singh and the Tour party at his residence. The World Fellowship of Religions and the Science of the Soul were discussed, and the Master consented to making a tape recording for the benefit of future visitors to Dr. Jelfs' residence.

Because of the tremendous public enthusiasm evoked bySant Kirpal Singh's visit to London, the schedule in that great city was extended by four days. Further informal meetings and personal interviews were arranged in His hotel suite, and until the last moment on 25 August, when Sant Kirpal Singh departed for Dublin, Ireland. John Rowlands, the new representative of Ruhani Satsang, wished the Master a stoic "Well, goodbye, Master!" The Master gazed at His disciple from South Wales with a quizzical and affectionate expression. "Why do you say 'goodbye', Rowlands?" He queried. "Do you think that I am ever going to leave you?"

Reported by members of the touring group

Ireland

Baron von Blomberg, who had traveled to Ireland a few days previously, was at Dublin Airport to greet the Master when He arrived. Baron von Blomberg was accompanied by Mrs. Una Byrne, representative of the W.F.R. in Ireland, and the Tour party posed for pictures before the assembled television and press photographers. A press conference was held in the airport lounge, and on the following day the arrival of Sant Kirpal Singh and a report on His mission was given wide and enthusiastic coverage in the major Dublin newspapers.

On 25 August, Sant Kirpal Singh was received by President de Valera at the Presidential Palace. A further reception given by Prime Minister Lemass showed that the eminent political leaders of Ireland fully realized the need for such a world mission of unity, goodwill and spirituality. The Master was also welcomed at the Mansion House, Dublin, by the Lord Mayor, and after further consultation upon the purpose and message of his visit, another statement was issued to the press. It was evident that the Irish press wanted as full a coverage of Sant Kirpal Singh's mission as possible.

On 27 August, Sant Kirpal Singh and His party visited the headquarters of the Medical Missionaries of Mary at Drogheda, several miles from Dublin and traveled on to the World Headquarters of the Columban Fathers. The Vicar-General of the Columban Fathers, welcoming Sant Kirpal Singh and His party, said that it was the first time a non-Christian dignitary had been received at the Headquarters. He went on to state that he had studied the views of the President of the World Fellowship of Religions and recognized that they embraced all religions. After a long discussion on the principles of the W.F.R., the Vicar-General said that he would be very happy to be an advisor to the Fellowship. As Kirpal Singh was leaving the Columban Headquarters, the Vicar-General turned to him and said: "I am proud to have met you, for you are a son of all religions." The Master and His party left the beautiful environs of Navan, where the Columban Headquarters is located, and returned to Dublin.

Sant Kirpal Singh spoke upon the science of soul and inter-religious concepts at a Quaker residence in Dublin, where about sixty people received these ideas in the spirit of goodwill which so exemplifies the Quaker philosophy.

It was the first time that a Master from the Far East had been received in this ancient country. Protestants, Quakers, Jews and Roman Catholics met Him to discuss the single solution to mankind's dilemma: God, and the truths of God as expounded by all past Masters of spirituality and written into the world's scriptures.

Sant Kirpal Singh left Dublin Airport for New York on August 31, 1963 – the European Tour was over.

Reported by members of the touring group

Just as a father is moved by the pitiable condition of his son and advises him out of sheer of compassion, similar is the case with our heavenly Father. He assumes the garb of a Saint and awakens the sleeping humanity out of the deep slumber